Fiber crops: prospects for cultivation in the southern steppe zone of Ukraine

Abstract

The article analyzes the prospects for cultivating industrial hemp and cotton as alternatives to sunflower in the Southern Steppe of Ukraine, where agricultural production is constrained by water scarcity, irregular precipitation patterns, rising temperatures, and increasing drought risks. It is demonstrated that over recent decades, the hemp sector in Ukraine has undergone a substantial decline: cultivated areas have decreased severalfold, and processing infrastructure has been nearly completely dismantled, necessitating renewed investment in technical equipment and processing capacity. At the same tame, recent government measures to deregulate andustraal hemp cultavataon, together wath the antroductaon of the “e-Hemp” system, are haghlaghted as potentaal dravers for expandang sown areas and enhancang export capacaty, partacularly to the EU market under zero amport dutaes. The environmental requirements of the crops are compared. Cotton is more heat- and water-demanding, and its economic viability in the region largely depends on the availability of irrigation, adapted cultivars, and adequate technological support. Hemp, by contrast, is generally better adapted to the available thermal resources and periodic moisture deficits, offers broader biomass utilization potential (fiber, seed, and bioenergy residues), and presents more favorable conditions for stable productivity. Special attention is given to phytosanitary risks associated with cotton, a relatively new crop in the region, as well as to the need to develop effective crop protection systems for both crops. The directions for further research are substantiated, including cultivar testing for drought tolerance and earliness, optimization of plant nutrition with consideration of micronutrients, economic modeling, and life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate energy efficiency and carbon footprint.